Theresa May wants new security treaty with European Union next year

May's speech drew criticism from Remain MPs, who said the Prime Minister is pursuing a Brexit deal with the "deepest level of irony".

May tried to strike a more reconciliatory tone in her speech than she did in her letter to the European commission last March, leading at the time to accusations of blackmail.

Prime Minister Theresa May met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin Friday to discuss a number of issues, including the ongoing Brexit negotiations and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation security cooperation.

Prime Minister Theresa May plans to take Britain out of the EU's single market and customs union after an initial Brexit transition period. Indeed, without such cooperation, criminals and terrorists would benefit, she implied.

"Theresa May was trying to say that the security arrangements are the best thing that could happen both for the United Kingdom and for Europe in terms of military cooperation, security cooperation, intelligence gathering, arrest warrants, against a backdrop of a world where groups like ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] have been staging attacks killing people in different parts of Europe".

Concern has been growing among European business leaders that Britain's exit from the EU will be far from seamless, causing considerable disruption to companies on both sides of the Channel.

That stance also has sympathisers in Berlin, though some officials fear a worst-case scenario in which German intelligence service have to delete data their British counterparts have shared with them when Brexit comes into full effect.

May responded: "It isn't just a one-way street". May even mentioned "unconditional interest" and respect for any European Court of Justice decision on issues covered by the agreement.

At the same time, she asked the European Union to respect Britain's "unique status", whether it concerned its strict data protection laws or its defense and security capabilities.

Mrs May admitted Britain and the European Union would need "real political will" to ensure they can build a new partnership to replace the current framework.

"There is no legal or operational reason why such an agreement could not be reached in the area of internal security".

"This can be achieved and the [EU] 27 will ensure that the relationship is as close as possible but that there is a difference to [EU] membership", she added.

Extradition on arrest warrants would cease.

Labour has already called on the prime minister to drop her red line on the ECJ to smooth future partnerships with the EU.

Theresa May has spent months calling for a deep and special economic partnership with the European Union after Brexit and now her focus turns to security. There was no going back on the result of the June 2016 vote, she said.

She said: "Those who threaten our security would like nothing more than to see us fractured".